So I describe to you a murder case, where an attractive young American woman is accused of committing – and put on trial for – a horrific crime for which the prosecution has no hard evidence. Immediately after the crime, this young woman behaves like (some might say) an inhumane, guilty-looking sociopath. It is factually accurate to say she misled law enforcement officials and nearly as easy to say that she knowingly lied to them during the course of their investigations.

It is the horrible nature of the crime, her behavior immediately after the crime, and her willful misleading of investigators, as well as her looks, that have brought her case into the public eye.

Would I be describing Casey Anthony?

Or Amanda Knox?

I ask because many of the media pundits (if not most), and quite a few members of the general public (I’m sure), outraged by the Casey Anthony verdict, are the same people proclaiming Amanda Knox’s innocence, using much of the same logic that the jurors probably used to return a not guilty verdict for Anthony. That, to me, is interesting. How someone like Nancy Grace can come to two such disparate opinions on these cases and still be considered credible is interesting.

Or am I wrong to think that she and many others are being wildly inconsistent?

Granted, a lot of controversy around Knox is the way in which the case played out in the Italian legal system. And granted, there IS hard evidence against Knox, though its legitimacy is now under question (at least by the media). Both of those points are beside the point of this post.

The U.S. Military Academy completed a thorough investigation regarding the incident that occurred at the Houston Airport on March 11, 2011, involving Cadet Richard King

Following this investigation, the Academy chain of command took appropriate administrative action in accordance with Army Regulation 210-26.

HudsonValley.com writes that King has been placed in up to 18-month active-duty mentorship program for violating the academy’s code of honor.

So, fat, disgusting Patti LaBelle has bodyguards who beat up a guy and it’s that guy who gets punished. And that’s no cursory punishment. Having gone to school with two people who got in to West Point (which is near where I grew up), I can tell you that getting in is a huge honor requiring a huge effort. Losing that honor is not to be taken lightly.

The always classy LaBelle made sure she posed for a few fan photographs while standing over the spot where the cadet was beaten. She did wait for him to be taken to the hospital first, so there’s that.

Well, no it didn’t. But I sure heard a lot of people claiming it was going to end on May 21, 2011. There was a boatload of people who not only thought it was going to end, but were so sure that they made otherwise questionable life/financial changes in anticipation of it. Here is one:

When the world didn’t end on May 21, many people who had given up their earthly possessions were left with nothing.

But one believer never lived to see the day. She left nearly her entire estate — around $300,000 — to the group behind the failed prediction, leaving some family members out in the cold.

//

Eileen Heuwetter was shocked to find out that her aunt left the majority of her estate to Family Radio, the group responsible for the doomsday warnings that the world would end on May 21. She and her sister were each left $25,000 from their aunt’s estate. The rest is going to Family Radio.

So some old lady left most of her money to a radio station she liked and a little bit to her nieces. Her nieces are pissed because they think the doomsday prophet dude is a sham. But my entire point of posting this article is summed up in the following line:

Even worse, Heuwetter said, his prediction never came to fruition.

So, what they are saying here, is the very worst thing about this whole situation is that the world DIDN’T end. Just wanted to clear that up.

We are in military conflict in Libya where there is full-on civil war. Syria is headed a similar direction, it’s government killing protesting civilians. Japan just had an 8.9 magnatude earthquake killing 15,000 people and causing historical nuclear distasters. The U.S. South was just hit with insane tornadoes, killing 300 and causing untold damage. And, most importantly, in England, Prince William is having a cookie cake.

I feel depressed that there is even such a thing as a “birther” movement, but that it got influencial enough to elicit a response from the POTUS(apologies but the acronym works nicely here; SCOTUS, however, is WAY too close to “scrotum”, so I’m not ever gonna use that one) is insane. Insane I say. It’s not like I voted for the guy, but dude.

For a second consecutive season, Eric Simon over at Amazin’ Avenue is running a pledge drive in the hopes of making this season’s Mets games bearable to watch. Which is more than I can say for the Mets.

It’s a neat idea and all the money goes to Care, so I’m participating. Here are my pledges.

$2.00 for each David Wright strikeout (matching Eric).
$1 for each Carlos Beltran Double.
$1 for each Jose Reyes Triple.
$1 for each Ike Davis HR.
$0.50 for each Josh Thole Walk.
$4.50 for each Isringhausen Save.
$0.25 for each Hu on first – Chin-lung Hu, that is (hits+walks+HBP as well as if he plays the position or pinch runs).
$10 for each Nick Evans call up. $1 extra for each game played (on the Mets).

$5 if Terry Collins is survives the season as Manager.
$20 if Donald Trump is NOT a part owner of the Mets before the end of the year (let us hope).
$30 if K-Rod fails to vest.
$44 if Jason Bay’s contract is off the team before the end of the season.
$8 if the Phillies don’t make the playoffs.
$20 if Jeff Francoeur doesn’t play a single game for the Mets this year.
$100 for a Mets no-hitter. $200 if RA Dickey pitches it.

And if the Mets make the playoffs, I’ll double my total contribution for the year.

If you’re interested, go ahead and pledge. You don’t have to be a Mets fan or a member of the site. Or a recovering gambling addict, but it all helps.

$2.00 for each David Wright strikeout (my only negative)

$1 for each Carlos Beltran Double
$1 for each Jose Reyes Triple
$1 for each Ike Davis HR
$0.50 for each Josh Thole Walk
$4.50 for each Isringhausen Save
$0.25 for each Hu on first (hits+walks+HBP as well as if he plays the position or pinch runs)
$10 for each Nick Evans call up. $1 extra for each game played (on the Mets)

$5 if Terry Collins is survives the season as Manager
$20 if Donald Trump is NOT a part owner of the Mets before the end of the year (let us hope)
$30 if K-Rod fails to vest
$44 if Jason Bay’s contract is off the team before the end of the season
$8 if the Phillies don’t make the playoffs
$20 if Jeff Francoeur doesn’t play a single game for the Mets this year
$100 for a Mets no-hitter. $200 if Dickey pitches it

And if the Mets make the playoffs, I’ll double my total contribution for the year

“The government says … TV dramas shouldn’t have characters that travel back in time and rewrite history. They say this goes against Chinese heritage,” reports CNN’s Eunice Yoon. “They also say that myth, superstitions and reincarnation are all questionable.”

I feel relieved that the Chinese people are being protected from these dangers by their government. What a thoughtful government they have.